Be With Me
by Moonsway
Summary: SPOILERS for The Rise of Skywalker. This is just a short alternate ending.


She couldn't pretend anymore. Rey had managed to put on a happy face for her friends while they rejoiced about the defeat of the First Order and Palpatine. She hadn't told anyone about being Palpatine's granddaughter. Everyone who knew was gone. Ben was gone.

She tried not to think of him, but she knew that her self-imposed exile was because of him. She needed time by herself to deal with everything that had happened. She needed time to accept that he was gone. She'd even come to Tatooine hoping for closure. She'd seen the force ghosts of Luke and Leia and taken on the Skywalker name in honor of them, but she hadn't seen Ben.

She stared at the double sunset, appreciating the beauty even as she felt the loneliness and the loss. Although much had changed in her life, Rey couldn't help feeling like she was back where she had started, alone and yearning for those who had left her behind.

It was even worse now, because she remembered vividly the bond she had shared with Ben. He had been there without fail and without warning, whether she had wanted him to be or not. She hadn't realized how much she had become accustomed to his impromptu visits until they stopped. It had been months since he'd shown up, but she still anticipated a glimpse of him every day. It wasn't possible that she'd never see him again. He had to be around, just waiting to barge in on her at the most inopportune time in his arrogant way.

But that had been Kylo Ren. Ben was the one she had barely gotten any time with. He was the one who had given up his life to save her. He had brought her back after she had died fighting Palpatine. She had felt his life force flowing through her, and she had awoken to see Ben, her soulmate and the one she felt closest to in the whole world. She was alive and happy, and she shared her joy with him in a kiss that conveyed everything she felt. It brought a smile to his face—the first smile he had ever given her, and she knew without a doubt that Kylo Ren was dead.

Then Ben died too.

His disappearance made it seem unreal, and she couldn't accept it. So she ignored it, like it had never happened. She convinced herself that Ben was out there, just like he had always been. Fate wouldn't be so cruel to grant her her heart's desire and immediately take it away. She refused to believe that, so she clung to hope. Yet that had become more difficult to maintain as months passed without any sign of Ben. She reminded herself that Palpatine had remained hidden for years, but she knew that Ben wouldn't do that to her.

She needed to let him go, but she didn't know if she could. She'd suffered too much loss in her life and been abandoned too many times. The bond she'd had with Ben had been the strongest connection in her life. He'd known her better than anyone else ever had, and she knew that she'd never feel as close to anyone ever again. Even Palpatine had remarked on its uniqueness, calling it a power like life itself, unseen for generations. Kylo, too, had said that they were a dyad in the force, two who were one. She'd fought it and been as conflicted as he was about it while Kylo Ren had reigned, but Ben's triumph had made it simple and sincere. He had eliminated the last barrier between them and completely united himself with her. If he was gone, that meant that she was left with only half of herself. How was she ever supposed to feel complete without him?

Watching the sunset felt especially bittersweet, because this was all part of Ben's family legacy. He was supposed to be here remembering his uncle as he gazed at the two suns Luke had looked upon as a child. She wished for his presence so much that she saw him as a shimmering mirage on the horizon. Sorrow filled her heart at the sight of him, but her heartbeat went erratic as the image before her sharpened and became more distinct as he continued to approach her. He came closer and closer, looking more real and potently alive the nearer he got. There was nothing hazy or dreamlike about him, so he wasn't a force ghost.

Was she hallucinating? When he stopped before her, his vivid, towering presence radiated life and vitality. His dark eyes consumed her with an intensity she had never seen in them before.

"Rey," he said in his deep, familiar voice as he reached out to tentatively touch her cheek like he was confirming that she was solid flesh.

His touch made her gasp in surprise, because it felt so real. Hallucinations were limited to sight, weren't they? She couldn't actually feel someone who wasn't there, could she? Her hand lifted shakily to his face with her intention to carefully test out whether she could touch him. Her gasp was more audible this time as he suddenly took hold of her hand and pressed it to his mouth. The unexpected feel of his lips gently kissing her palm elicited a soft moan from her.

His eyes sparked at her response, and he opened his mouth wider to run his tongue sensually over her sensitive skin. That brought a needy whimper forth from her, and he moved her hand down from his face and pulled her into him so that he could claim her mouth in a hot, hungry kiss.

Rey stopped questioning whether this was real and just reveled in the feel of him. His lips, his mouth, his tongue. The solid press of his body against hers. He was here in her arms right now, and she didn't care to think beyond that. She had this moment with him, and she held on tightly, afraid that he would disappear if she broke contact with him. She kissed him fervently, coming completely alive in his passionate embrace. The energy between them filled her with so much life force that she could barely contain it. The exhilaration was like nothing she had ever experienced before, and it took her higher and higher as her tongue tangled with Ben's.

They were both breathing heavily when they broke for air, and seeing him taking those quick, shallow breaths was what convinced her that he was really alive. "Ben?" she said as she stared at him.

He gave her that beautiful smile she had seen only once before. "Yes, it's me."

She grasped his arm tighter, needing to feel the solidness of him as she struggled with fully accepting the proof before her eyes. "But how? I saw you…"

She trailed off, reluctant to mention his death in the superstitious fear of making it a reality again. "You were gone," she said instead.

"I don't know," he answered. "Luke didn't explain it to me. He told me not to concern myself with it, and that I needed to let it go in order to heal and regain my strength."

"Luke?" Rey exclaimed. "You saw Luke? When? Where were you?"

"On Ahch-To. I woke up there a month ago."

She stiffened. "A month? And you're only just now letting me know you're alive?"

"I was very weak," he explained. "Luke said I'd been unconscious for months while I hovered between life and death. It took time to recover enough to seek you out. I couldn't even lift my arms at first."

She was aghast at hearing this. "But who took care of you? Why didn't Luke tell me you needed help? Why didn't he tell me you were alive?" she finished resentfully as she cast a look around for Luke, who didn't appear.

"The caretakers took care of me," Ben replied. "I tried to reach you through the force, but I couldn't. I only saw Luke the day I woke up, and he refused to contact you. He said that it wasn't time yet, and that I needed quiet contemplation and meditation to heal my spirit as well as my body. Only then could I find my true path."

His gaze became fierce and heated as he focused intently on her. "My path always leads back to you, Rey. It always has, since the moment I met you. Nothing else has been able to sway me from you. Not Snoke or Palpatine, or even Luke. I tried to cast you from my mind when you refused my hand, but I couldn't. Not even death has been able to sever my feelings for you."

She stared back at him just as fiercely. "It was not your hand I refused, Ben. My feelings for you are just as strong."

If she thought his gaze was intense before, it was molten now. Her body ignited with the sensual promise in those dark eyes that drew her in so deep that she forgot everything else. His kiss was hot and sultry, and he tasted so good that she couldn't stop. She didn't want to stop now that she had her heart's desire, and things progressed quickly. They were so desperate for each other that he took her right there against the side of the house in the waning light. He was able to lift her up easily after she bared her lower body to him and made her intentions known.

When he thrust into her, the feeling was so intense that they both cried out in pleasure. It was mind-blowing, out of the realm of anything she had experienced before, and she succumbed to pure bliss that had her losing all her inhibitions while she moaned and urged him on by calling out his name as she neared the pinnacle of ecstasy.

He was less vocal about his own pleasure as he encouraged her to climax, but his occasional moans low groans were more erotic to her than the words he spoke. They increased in frequency as he began to thrust harder and faster, and hearing how much she affected him along with the incredible feel of him inside her had her falling over the edge. He followed her with a long, low moan of release.

They stayed in that position as they caught their breaths. Then Ben smiled at her before gently setting her down. She smiled back tiredly at him, feeling sated and relaxed, and kind of drained.

"You sapped my energy," she accused in a lazy voice.

He laughed, seemingly rejuvenated rather than tired out from their coupling. "Then you'd better get some rest, because I plan to do it again soon."

Despite herself, she felt a delicious tingle between her legs at the thought of having him again. She quickly righted her clothes though, so as not to appear too eager. She was feeling a little vulnerable and embarrassed over how sexually unrestrained she had just been.

"Rey," he said, his serious tone drawing her attention. "I want to be with you. That's something that even Kylo Ren knew, as conflicted as he was about everything else. My path is with you, and I will follow wherever you lead."

Her heart swelled with emotion as she gazed at him and his sincere expression. "I want to be with you too, Ben. So much. And we'll figure out the rest together."

His beautiful smile was his response, and he took her hand when she offered it to him to walk him to her ship. It was time to leave the past behind and go forward into the future—together. Bb-8 made them laugh as he suddenly made his presence known as he came up beside Rey. She wasn't naïve enough to think that everything was going to be easy, but she had a good feeling about this.


End file.
